Google has announced its first smart speaker in six years, the 'Google Home Speaker,' which is Gemini compatible and priced at 16,800 yen.
On June 17, 2026, Google announced a new Google Home speaker, the first device developed for its Gemini for Home voice assistant. Pre-orders have begun in Japan at the Google Store, and the speaker will be marketed as one that allows for more natural conversational control of smart home devices and music playback.
Experience the new Google Home speaker.
Google's first smart speaker in six years arrives next week | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/tech/951147/google-home-speaker-gemini-launch-date-price-specs-features
The new Google Home speaker features a rounded design and utilizes sustainable materials and custom 3D knitted textiles. It will be available in two colors in Japan: Hazel and Porcelain.
The light ring at the bottom of the unit visually indicates the status, such as listening, thinking, or responding.
Google's new smart speaker is their first new model in six years since
The new Google Home speaker features 'Gemini for Home,' which boasts advanced natural language understanding and reasoning capabilities. It also functions as a Matter controller and Thread border router in smart home applications. It plays a key role in making it easier to connect compatible devices such as lights, locks, and plugs to Google Home, and is expected to run on Thread 1.3 at launch.
There's no need to memorize specific commands; Google Home speakers can control lights, timers, music playback, and more, all at once, using requests that sound similar to your natural speech. For example, they can handle conditional commands like, 'Turn off all lights except the bedside lamp.' It's also designed for use with multiple requests at once, such as, 'Dim the kitchen lights, play some relaxing music, and set a timer for 20 minutes.'
Even if you correct yourself mid-conversation, Gemini can understand your intentions based on the context. It also supports interactions that involve asking follow-up questions or naturally moving on to other tasks, and the 'Continue Conversation' feature, which allows you to continue the conversation without having to say 'OK Google' every time, is available in all supported languages, including Japanese.
Gemini Live allows for free-flowing conversations, including brainstorming and topic switching, and when paired with Google Nest Cam, it can ask about recent movements captured by the camera and events happening around your home. However, Gemini Live is a feature available only to Google Home Premium subscribers, a paid subscription service, and is available on both the Standard and Advanced plans.
In terms of sound quality, it boasts 360-degree sound projection, allowing you to enjoy podcasts and music clearly no matter where you are in the room. It also features advanced microphone processing technology, adapting to the surrounding environment to more accurately recognize the user's voice. It supports integration with Google TV Streamer and allows pairing of up to two speakers. This enables you to transform your living room into a mini home theater with spatial surround sound.
The new Google Home speaker will be released on June 25, 2026, and will be priced at 16,800 yen (including tax) on the Google Store.
Google Home - Smart Speaker - Google Store
https://store.google.com/jp/product/google_home_speaker
Google Home Premium, a paid subscription service, is available in Standard (¥1,000/month or ¥10,000/year) and Advanced (¥2,000/month or ¥20,000/year). Standard includes 30 days of video history for activity detection, person recognition alerts, Gemini for Home, and support for creating automated rules using Gemini. Advanced adds 60 days of video history, up to 10 days of continuous 24-hour video history, video history search, event descriptions, and daily summaries.
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